Comments for Practical Theoryhttp://practicaltheory.org/blog
A View From the SchoolhouseMon, 26 Mar 2018 12:58:43 +0000hourly1Comment on Ultimate, Race and Spirit of the Game by Trent Simmonshttp://practicaltheory.org/blog/2018/03/10/ultimate-race-and-spirit-of-the-game/#comment-3766
Mon, 26 Mar 2018 12:58:43 +0000http://practicaltheory.org/blog/?p=14238#comment-3766Hey Chris:

Thank you for writing about this topic with such passion.

I run an international youth development NGO which primarily uses Ultimate as a starting point to address conflict resolution skills, as well as gender respect, mutual respect between opponents, and personal accountability under pressure.
Without SotG and self-refereeing at the highest level of the sport, our mission would be virtually impossible. As you pointed out, pick-up basketball games also have self-refereeing and behaviour which is agreed upon to be within the spirit of those games. So without self refereeing in the World Games, we’d be coming to our funding sources, and government agencies with simply the promise of a fun new activity, rather than an example of how world champion athletes can referee themselves.

I’ll start with my criticisms, rather than the …”great article, but..”

1) It feels like you are attacking SotG through the lens of your experience with the behavior of coaches who don’t truly buy into Spirit of the Game, and their kids who never actually learned what it really means. All of the behaviors you talk about are counter to SotG. The fact that there are hypocritical SotG practitioners means basically the same as the so-called Christians who can’t follow the two basic tenets of “Judge not, that ye be not judged” and “Love your neighbor”. In neither case does the hypocrisy of the followers negate the validity of the philosophy.

I think I do understand the overall point you are trying to make, but feel like your tone was “macro-aggressive” and thus likely to get you kudos from people who already agree with you while doing very little to change the opinions of people who differ.

I’d also like to point out that SotG in the US has been actively attacked and watered down for at least the last 25 years. Your post came across as attacking a philosophy while you should be criticizing a culture which has rejected the most meaningful parts of that philosophy.

2) Thank you again for writing about this topic. Failure to spread this sport to poorest people in the world it probably is the greatest flaw of our sport, and the greatest collective failing of all the people who have worked so hard to spread it around the world. It is a topic which needs to be addressed over and over again, and not simply within the context of the US.

My greatest frustration with running the NGO has been the apathy of first world Ultimate players towards systematic development in 3rd world countries. This apathy ranges from first world individuals and organizations who are more concerned about paying for championships and travel than general youth development, to national federations who don’t care about working with refugees or minorities because it doesn’t advance their chances to gain recognition from their National Olympic Committees. Most of those same federations also say “We give money to WFDF to do that type of work”, when we encourage them to do more internationally.

Its a symptom of larger first world apathy as well as the all too human tendency to donate to stories rather than results, and to care more about problems immediately around them than they do about much larger issues which don’t affect them personally, even though they themselves indirectly contribute to those problems.

3) Comments from your 2nd article in this series are closed, but I wanted to offer a couple of additional perspectives on that article. And then I’ll wrap up with a controversial question of my own about SotG which I’d love your perspective on.

a) I believe the best way to engage inner city kids is through indoor Ultimate. 7v7 Ultimate on a full sized field is so “country club”. 5v5, or even 4v4 and 3v3 competitions reduces the barrier to entry for new teams as they need fewer players.
Making basketball courts the “standard” field also opens up way more opportunities at a greatly reduced cost.

b) USAU’s basic business model is to attract more youth players who will be due-paying members for a long time. Inner city kids are most likely never going to be a significant source of income. And again, in an ideal world, all of USAU’s over-privileged members would give them more money specifically to do this type of development.

But there is nothing stopping regional Ultimate organizations from establishing indoor youth tournaments or leagues on basketball courts with free entry for new schools.

4) Last year I had a bit of a moral dilemma which I’d like your perspective on.

Is Spirit of the Game a principle of privilege?
I.e. Are we doing a dis-service teaching SotG to less privileged people because the world in its current form doesn’t honor SotG in business, politics, or international relations, etc.

]]>Comment on In Memoriam: Brandon Williams by Steve Goldberghttp://practicaltheory.org/blog/2018/03/14/in-memoriam-brandon-williams/#comment-3765
Fri, 16 Mar 2018 05:07:36 +0000http://practicaltheory.org/blog/?p=14273#comment-3765This is such a loving memorial to a student who I can now picture sitting in the SLA office, even though I never met him. I’m sorry for your loss, Chris.
]]>Comment on In Memoriam: Brandon Williams by Josh Newmanhttp://practicaltheory.org/blog/2018/03/14/in-memoriam-brandon-williams/#comment-3764
Thu, 15 Mar 2018 12:56:54 +0000http://practicaltheory.org/blog/?p=14273#comment-3764This is a crushing blow. Brandon was one of the kids who really made me feel that I belonged at SLA. I know he did that for guests and fellow students alike. We spent a ridiculous amount of time jamming together in the library–he was exceptionally gifted as a drummer and keyboardist. We played our cobbled-together version of “Watermelon Man” by Herbie Hancock for endless hours. I will always remember time with him fondly. He was warm, bright, and a tireless ambassador to anyone who felt out of place, despite the pains of his condition. Rest in Peace, Brandon. You are missed here.
]]>Comment on Ultimate, Race and Spirit of the Game by Hart Matthewshttp://practicaltheory.org/blog/2018/03/10/ultimate-race-and-spirit-of-the-game/#comment-3763
Tue, 13 Mar 2018 11:52:33 +0000http://practicaltheory.org/blog/?p=14238#comment-3763I love it! Thank you for taking the time.
]]>Comment on Ultimate, Race and Spirit of the Game by Chris Lehmannhttp://practicaltheory.org/blog/2018/03/10/ultimate-race-and-spirit-of-the-game/#comment-3762
Tue, 13 Mar 2018 11:16:36 +0000http://practicaltheory.org/blog/?p=14238#comment-3762Hi Hart –

Thanks for writing! To your question, I think that the second half of the clause of SOTG sets up the conditions where racial bias can be given “sport-approved” language. I don’t think changing a sentence or two eradicates racial bias, but I do think that language matters, so for me, that clause becomes one place to start.

Here’s WFDF’s SOTG clause:
Ultimate relies upon a Spirit of the Game that places the responsibility for fair play on every player. There are no referees; the players are solely responsible for following and enforcing the rules, even at World Championship. Competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of respect between players, adherence to the rules, and the basic joy of play.

Spirit of the Game is the mindful behaviour practiced by players worldwide prior to, during and after a game. It encompasses attitudes and skills such as good knowledge and application of the rules, fair-mindedness, safe play, and spatial awareness, clear and calm communication, and positive and respectful attitude towards teammates, fans, and opponents, in a mutual effort to protect the basic joy of play.

Personally, I’d strike the “and calm” communication, because I think that is a place stuff can creep in, but compared to USAU’s:

Spirit of the Game. Ultimate relies upon a spirit of sportsmanship that places the responsibility for fair play on the player. Highly competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of mutual respect among competitors, adherence to the agreed upon rules, or the basic joy of play. Protection of these vital elements serves to eliminate unsportsmanlike conduct from the Ultimate field. Such actions as taunting opposing players, dangerous aggression, belligerent intimidation, intentional infractions, or other ‘win-at-all-costs’ behavior are contrary to the Spirit of the Game and must be avoided by all players.

It creates a very different frame for SOTG with much less space for bias in its language.

So even if we just adopted WFDF’s SOTG clause, I think we’d be better off. Can we do even better? Probably. Do there need to then be much more deliberate actions as well? Of course.